It smells terrible in here.' Well, what do you expect? The human body, when confined, produces certain odors which we tend to forget in this age of deodorants and other perversions. Actually, I find the atmosphere of this room rather comforting. Schiller needed the scent of apples rotting in his desk in order to write. I, too, have my needs. You may remember that Mark Twain preferred to lie supinely in bed while composing those rather dated and boring efforts which contemporary scholars try to prove meaningful. Veneration of Mark Twain is one of the roots of our current intellectual stalemate. John Kennedy Toole
About This Quote

Friedrich Schiller, the architect of the Romantic movement, was an important German playwright and poet in the late 18th century. He also wrote letters to his friend, the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. One of these letters is known as “The Sorrows of Young Werther.” The letter describes the relationship between Werther and Charlotte, a teacher in his school. After writing this letter, Schiller’s friend Goethe went on to write what would be considered the first true novel, "The Sorrows of Young Werther." This novel helped bring attention to Romantic literature in Germany. Today, scholars are still trying to understand Schiller's concept of "Odour," which he mentions in the letter.

Source: A Confederacy Of Dunces

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